a blog for freethinkers

Category Archive: General

For those of you who don’t know, I also contribute to a group blog called An American Atheist. I have a new post there that you might find interesting – The Problem of Heaven. Bookmark on Delicious Digg this post Recommend on Facebook share via Reddit Share with Stumblers Tweet about it Subscribe to the …

Have you ever heard someone say that you need God in government to maintain your rights? They will typically say something like, “Rights are granted by God and can only be revoked by God. That’s the only way we can keep the State from unjustly harming us.” Rights in this context generally refers to only …

The Huffington Post currently has an article describing some controversy over the exclusion of religious clergy/material from the 9/11 memorial service. Bloomberg has pledged to maintain his position despite conservative religious group protests. A spokesperson for the Mayor said, “The ceremony was designed in coordination with 9/11 families with a mixture of readings that are …

A new nationwide Gallup poll provides insight about who the current frontrunners are for the GOP nomination. As you can see in the figure below, the only candidates I would ever support—Newt Gingrich and Jon Huntsman—didn’t even crack the top four. These two didn’t even make a respectable showing. Now, I don’t think Gingrich and …

I’ve never understood why people, especially Evangelicals, use this question as if it has force. The answer seems like an obvious “Yes,” but to clearly see why, let’s unpack the assumptions. First, let’s consider the analogy: the clay should not judge the potter. Humans (and I presume animals) are supposed to be the clay and …

We have two Republican presidential candidates that are Mormon. In lieu of this, Joanna Brooks discusses here how Mormons aren’t so bad (she is a Mormon herself). She looks to dispel five myths people believe about Mormons. The campaigns by Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman Jr. for the GOP presidential nomination, along with the popular …

I am an atheist. Let me be clear. I don’t believe in any gods or goddesses. I don’t believe in ghosts or ESP. I don’t believe in anything you might associate with the supernatural. Period. Yet, there is a move often made by theists. It goes a little something like this: Theist: Can you prove …

Imagine a village in ancient times. This village is inhabited by a culture that is quite primitive when viewed through the lens of today. They don’t know much about how the world works. In good times, they are thankful to their local god for the bounty. In hard times, they feel they must have wronged …

I’ve been travelling lately, so I’m sorry if I haven’t kept up with the site over the past week or two. I did have some interesting site-related things happen, though. – I received a review copy of Why We Believe in God(s): A Concise Guide to the Science of Faith. I wanted to complete my review …

I learned of Osama bin Laden’s death yesterday morning. I was immediately struck with a sobering thought: I hoped there wouldn’t be a retaliatory strike. As the day went on, I began to hear and read the reactions of others. The majority of emotions could best be described as celebratory. He may have been an …